Can Recruiters and Talent Acquisition build strong partnerships?

Yes! I will explain just how easy it can be with strong communication.

When I joined the Torstar Corporation in the mid 2000's, I had recently graduated from McMaster University fresh out of my Human Resources Management program.

I was brought on as a District Sales Manager responsible for a team of independent contractors selling subscriptions to the newspaper. My immediate goal (other than increasing revenue and decreasing churn) was to hire and onboard new talent. Should be easy for a recent HR grad, right?

Not so fast. We had an HR department that was burdened with the day to day of overseeing the business. If we had a Talent Acquisition team or Internal Recruiters, I hadn't met them.

I went about creating job descriptions, taking an audit of what skills, abilities, competencies and personal characteristics I thought would excel in the role. I hit my 'Recruitment and Selection" textbooks for practical (yet outdated) approaches and created a compensation structure that would be motivating. I went to job fairs, posted in newspapers, scouted from the competition, went to local Colleges and Universities, posted online, searched online and even put out flyers!

While I was recruiting, I created a training and onboarding program to ensure that the talent I was bringing into the company would want to stay and grow with us. Does this sound like a lot of work for a Sales Manager?

Thankfully, as my career progressed, internal Talent Sourcing, Talent Acquisition and external recruiters, become more relevant and critical in the hiring and onboarding process. The Human Resources/Talent team and I were closest allies throughout my sales leadership career (sorry Marketing and Finance)!

TALENT ACQUISITION IS CRITICAL IN COMMUNICATING YOUR BRAND TO POTENTIAL CANDIDATES

Now, as a Recruiter and Founder of my own company, I understand first-hand the critical importance that Talent Acquisition and Talent Sourcing takes on in explaining a companies' brand to would-be candidates. These team members are essential to whether or not a job seeker with options wants to work for your company!

However, these people and teams can be tasked with SO many activities that hiring an external partner becomes necessary. But, how do you outsource the hiring of your most important resource, your people, to an 'outsider?"

A few tips:

1. Know your needs: Are they short-term, long-term, specialized? Do you need the external recruitment partner to source/screen/present or do you require more?
2. Know your profile: Recruiters can drastically help you to reduce your TTF (Time to Fill, and thus costs) if the intake process between the two of you includes a robust conversation about the skills, competencies, characteristics and general aptitude of the prospective candidates you want for the future of your business. (IF the recruitment partner doesn't ask very many questions - RUN!)
3. Know your partner: Linkedin is filled with Talent Agencies, Recruiters, Consultants, Head Hunters and so many more companies and individuals vying for your business. What matters to you? Experience? Location? Specialization? Costs? There is nothing wrong with interviewing a few partners to find the best fit for you - sometimes a referral can be the best and worst decision for your brand.
4. Are you aligned? Does your partner regularly share their progress with you? Your great recruitment partner should be communicative, honest, understanding of your plan/process and needs to produce results. After all, you are partnering with one another to produce results. Ask for references!

If diversity is important to you, look for a diverse hiring partner. If size, cost, experience or industry specialization are critical, you will find those hiring partners too. Costs can be prohibitive to some teams with smaller hiring budgets, but that shouldn't be a barrier to getting access to the resources you might need. I can help you with that!

Your external recruitment partner should act like a stakeholder in the future of your business and your people!